The Vegas Sports Masters

Kelso Sturgeon is not a shadow or a mirage. I am a real person, a man who has been handicapping football for more than 4 decades, and I bring to the table a set of credentials you can't find anywhere else in this business.

And so there is no misunderstanding, Kelso Sturgeon is my real name and I make my home in Las Vegas, the betting capital of the world.

Wayne Allyn Root is the only man to create a multi-million dollar empire out of nothing but picking winners! Long-time host of his own shows on Fox and USA Network, he has been celebrated in the business press and by all the TV pundits. He set the record for most outright upset winners in football in three different seasons and has enjoyed another winning and profitable basketball season. Wayne is the only oddsmaker/handicapper with his own Star on the Las Vegas Walk of Stars.

JIM HURLEY is the founder and president of the most unusual organization in sports wagering.

Created as a small handicapping service back in 1985, Jim's NETWORK has evolved into a nationwide TASK FORCE of, handicappers, scouts, number crunchers, draftniks and former pro players who study and analyze every team and every game to develop BETTER information, make SMARTER picks and win MORE money!

In simple words, Jim's system approach to handicapping picks more winners and makes more money for their customers. And they are able to do this not because they are a one-man band, but because of the "TEAM" approach that utilizes a huge information gathering system to fine tune every selection.

But because they truly are a "Network" and cover the colleges and pros wall-to-wall, they know what's going on inside the locker rooms and dugouts. They know who's hot, who's hurt and who's ready to kick butt. NETWORK’s computer department analyzes upcoming matchups like it was the Dow Jones. They dig beneath surface factors to find out how two teams really compare. Who needs it more? Who's tapped out? Who's out for revenge? NETWORK finds those answers.

So when they run NETWORK'S number up against Vegas', we can immediately spot whether a game is off, and how much, and just cherrypick the contests that are giving us the most points

That's why JIM has racked up twentyone consecutive money making season for his customers.

Now what about YOU? Wouldn't you like to know who the big winners are going to be this week? NETWORK can tell you. Want to make money off that knowledge? Jim's NETWORK can help you there, too.

Want the best shot at the most money? There are dozens of ways to get you there, no matter what your wagering patterns or budget. So, why not get started NOW!

In case you don't know me, for years people in Vegas knew Richie B as a kind of linesmaker's linesmaker - a kind of numerical purist who, when every other sports book in Vegas was posting Ohio State (-7) over Texas, I was saying... "NO! It ought to be Ohio State (-8)!"

I took a position. I didn't just put up a "betting middle" where I could draw even betting action from both sides. Instead - if I really felt the Buckeyes were stronger than generally thought - I'd put up (-8) or even (-9) and dare the bettors, "Come and get me! Prove me wrong!"

Tony Salinas arrived in Las Vegas over two decades ago fresh from the family ranch in Texas, looking for the next winning thing. After all, he'd always been a winner back home... captain of the football team, State Champion tennis player, point guard for the district-winning basketball team, and Texas Calf Roping Champion in both high school & College.

Tony was an immediate hit, winning the $85,000 Castaways Challenge of 1980, and has never looked back. Tony is the proud winner of over a dozen handicapping contests, including two years ago when he beat out 226 other rivals to take the title in the $135,000 Hilton Superbook Handicapping Championship.

Jim Feist for decades has been the leader in the sports wagering information field. Beginning in the 1970s Jim has been ahead of the curve with Proline, the longest running sports football handicapping show on USA Cable Network and the Internet. Also, National Sports Services, utilizing the first telephone line services (Jim Feist’s Personal Line Service), former publisher of the Official Nevada Rotation, creator of Sports Tracker, Internet Web Sites (Jim Feist.com; DonBest.com)

In the world of Handicapping, the average bettor is up against a well financed, information-rich, experienced Casino Sportsbooks and Linesmakers.ARE YOU STANDING ALONE AGAINST ALL ODDS?YOU ARE NO LONGER ALONE!Five professional handicappers have stepped forward to beat the line. If getting one strong man to help you win a fight, surely finding six is a dream come true. Isn't it time you learned more about the Vegas Sports Masters?

Blog Headlines

Skeptics of the ACC run into a roadblock when they try to suggest that Georgia Tech is a pretender. Yes, they have some weaknesses, and are trying to win modern football with an old-school option attack. But, this is a team that finished last season by beating Clemson 28-6, beating Georgia in overtime, losing a two-point heartbreaker to Florida State, then running roughshod over respected Mississippi State of the SEC in a 49-34 Orange Bowl victory.

That’s about as “for real” as it gets. No…the Yellow Jackets aren’t any sort of national championship threat because they don’t have the horses to…

JIM SEZ: IT'S NFL "Q&A" TIME AND WE TACKLE PLENTY OF HOT TOPICSPLUS OUR COLLEGE FOOTBALL NOTEBOOK AND MLB TRADE NEWS/NOTES

By Jim Hurley:

The NFL summer training camps are getting into full-blown mode but it's a whole lot of noise happening off the practice fields that has been making news the past few days/weeks and so we figured it was a good time to pose some questions and get you the pertinent answers too ... so welcome to today's NFL "Q&A" session:

Q: Will the just-signed four-year, $87.6 million contract of Seattle QB Russell Wilson serve to unite or divide the two-time…

We’ve reached the month of August…which means NFL Preseason action is about to begin. That makes it a great time to check in on “Futures” odds to win the Super Bowl. You can used today’s numbers as a relative baseline to monitor as the season progresses.

I have to note up front that New England’s price is naturally in a bit of flux as the court system eventually works out how long Tom Brady’s suspension is going to be. Pricing is currently reflecting the likelihood that he’ll miss the first month. If that gets overturned, there won’t be too big a…

Both the Florida State Seminoles and Clemson Tigers are coming off successful seasons. Florida State reached the Final Four before losing to Oregon. Clemson made it to 10 victories after throttling Oklahoma 40-6 in the Russell Athletic Bowl…and one of their three losses was in overtime at FSU.

Strong stuff!

Both programs are getting decent media run heading into 2015…but both were hit VERY hard by graduation. FSU only returns 3 starters on offense. Clemson only returns 2 starters on defense! Will program momentum by way of recruiting allow these two to continue dominating their division? Or, is there somebody waiting in…

New season…same old preseason talk about how many in “the media” think Notre Dame has a “legitimate shot” to compete for the National Championship as their head coach talks about how that’s “the goal” every season.

Look, Notre Dame has consistently been a winning team. Nothing wrong with that. If they played in the SEC or Big 12, they’d finish near the middle of the pack most seasons. Even when things did actually break their way with a string of close victories against non-superpowers a few years ago, they were still badly outclassed and exposed by Alabama in the title tilt.…

Within the past few days, the Toronto Blue Jays have acquired National League hitting star Troy Tulowitzki, and proven American League ace pitcher David Price for a roster that was already performing at a very high level at everything except winning close games.

Though the Jays wouldn’t even be in the playoffs if the season ended today, these moves are shaking the market in terms of Futures prices and game-day lines. And, when you dig a little closer into baseball math, you can see why.

If won-lost records were based on the “normal” distribution of run production, the AL standings would have…

It’s been a lot of fun watching all the drama unfold this week in the media regarding the current legal battle between NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady. Looks like we won’t have a final resolution until right before the regular season begins. That’s created a headache for Nevada sportsbooks who want to take betting action on the regular season opener between the Patriots and Steelers.

I’m not going to talk about that particular game so early. How can you handicap when you don’t even know for sure if Brady will play. For now, it’s probable…

The American Athletic Conference has expanded to 12 teams this year with the addition of Navy. That allows for two divisions and a conference championship game at the end of the season. Normally…with a two-division conference…we split our preview up into two days. But, there are enough BAD teams in the mix here that we decided to just cram it all into one day.

There are definitely a few GOOD teams worth paying attention to. Let’s jump right in and see what we learn, starting with the East Division.

Still two more games to play in the very important American League series matching the AL East leading New York Yankees and the stalling Texas Rangers of the AL West. The Rangers keep talking about acquiring Cole Hamels from the Phils…but they’d better focus on winning the rest of this series or they might fall too far off the pace!

WILDCARD RACE THRU MONDAY (top 2 teams earn Wildcards)

Houston 55-45

Minnesota 52-46

Baltimore and Toronto both at .500 (50-50 and 49-49)

Tampa Bay 50-51

Detroit 48-51

Chicago 47-50

Texas 47-51

The Rangers may be dreaming too big of a dream if they’re really thinking about reaching the postseason.…

This is shaping up to be quite a divisional race in the AL West! The Los Angeles Angels had overtaken the Houston Astros with a sustained surge of excellence just before the All-Star Break. Instead of sitting idly by, the Astros acquired Scott Kazmir to bolster their starting rotation for the stretch run. A rebuilding effort that wasn’t supposed to arrive until 2016 or later is now very much in play for a world title NOW!

Entering a three-game series between the two that begins Tuesday night in Houston, the Angels have a one game lead…

NFL training camps will be opening up across the league this week. We’re closing in quickly on the start of the 2015 exhibition slate. That makes this the ideal time to talk about how handicappers should monitor media coverage so they can make informed bets.

First…I want to talk about the big picture. Almost all media coverage initially is going to be about the outlook for the coming season. Nobody’s focused yet on who’s going to win or lose a Preseason game on the second Friday of August. The New England Patriots are going to be talking about whether or not…

This past weekend, the Kansas City Royals acquired ace pitcher Johnny Cueto from the Cincinnati Reds to bolster their starting rotation in advance of the pennant race and playoffs. More big name pitchers will be changing teams in short order. It’s just a matter of the details being worked out regarding which prospects will be going where in the transaction. There may be a big trade between the time I write this and the time you read this!

There’s already talk of Cole Hamels ending up with the Los Angeles Dodgers after he made headlines with that big no-hitter in Chicago…

Normally we emphasize a high profile series involving likely playoff teams here in the NOTEBOOK. Today, we’re going to drop down the ladder a bit to study what could be a CRITICAL series involving teams who are right on the fringe of the American League pennant picture.

Both the Detroit Tigers and Tampa Bay Rays have been hanging around the .500 mark in a way that frustrates their fans and hampers their front offices. It’s easy to go all out for a championship run if you’re definitely going to make the brackets. It’s easy to trade some veterans to bring in…

Ohio State's Biggest Edge Over TCU And Alabama To Win 2nd Straight National Championship Has Everything To Do With A Much Weaker Schedule Sign Up For My NFL Pre-Season & College Football Package And Win $3,000 In Six Weeks - Start Winning With Free Baseball Today

Thought For The Day"If my mother put on a helmet and shoulder pads and a uniform that wasn't the same as the one was wearing, I would run over her if she was in my way. And I love my mother."-Bo Jackson, former College, NFL and Major League Baseball great.

If you’re purchased the annual Athlon college football publication from your local newsstand, you’ve probably noticed that all seven teams in the SEC West are considered to be Top 25 caliber teams.

ATHLON’S EARLY RANKINGS

Alabama #2

Auburn #4

Ole Miss #11

LSU #15

Arkansas #16

Texas A&M #20

Mississippi State #21

That’s amazing…the WORST team is supposed to be #21! Now we all know that these teams play a round robin against each other…so it’s impossible for all seven to stay that high in media rankings through the full season. Somebody’s going to be losing games. Any team that takes a step backward or suffers serious injuries may…

When the Missouri Tigers joined the SEC East a couple of years ago, it was assumed that they’d quickly learn a hard lesson about how great SEC football was. No way a Big 12 “finesse” team was going to come in and compete physically with the brutes of the SEC!

Well…Missouri shocked the world by winning the East in their inaugural season…then shocked everyone again by repeating! What happened Georgia? Where did you go Florida? Hey, why isn’t the old ball coach at South Carolina doing something about this?!

Those three teams plus Tennessee are all looking to make headlines this year…

So much for building for the future! The Houston Astros acquired Scott Kazmir from the Oakland A’s just in time for their huge series this weekend with AL Central leading Kansas City. Kazmir will be a free agent at the end of the season. So, the move seems very much focused on the Astros staying trying to win a title THIS year as their youngsters have matured quicker than expected.

As of publication time, it’s not clear if and when Kazmir will throw for the Astros this weekend. We’ll post his stat line first…and then run through the numbers for what…

It can be very complicated for new baseball handicappers to figure out what matters most when trying to pick winners. If they read social media and the internet as a whole, they’re going to come across a virtually infinite variety of approaches. And, each of those approaches focus on certain stats at the expense of others.

Unfortunately, many pundits are way behind the times when it comes to understanding the reality of baseball. I’m still amazed by how many don’t even acknowledge park effects! You’d think that would have sunk in 35 years after they were first publicized. My goal in…

The New York Mets begin a four-game gut-check series with the Los Angeles Dodgers Thursday night that could make or break their season. It’s been awhile since I’ve checked in on the Mets on these pages. You regulars know I follow the New York sports very closely since I grew up there as a true S.O.B. (son of a butcher in Mt. Vernon, NY!)

Earlier this season, I expressed some hope, but more skepticism about the Mets making a playoff run. Since then, they’ve mostly been treading water. That’s better than sinking! But, they’re mostly in the playoff picture now because…

So many great matchups in the bases these days! The showcase series in the National League this weekend in terms of the standings features the Washington Nationals visiting the Pittsburgh Pirates. The media will be more obsessed with Dodgers/Mets because of the media markets. But, the Nats and Pirates are much more serious championship forces than the Mets.

Though…we have to admit that it’s time to start wondering about the Nationals. It’s not commonly realized but Pittsburgh would have a comfortable lead on Washington if the teams played in the same division. In fact, through Tuesday night’s action…the Nationals had the…

More college football lines have been going up in recent days. The LV SuperBook has joined the Golden Nugget in posting “Game of the Year” lines for marquee matchups through the season. It’s important that you know what you’re seeing when you study these numbers.

Far too many “square” bettors jump to conclusions because their enthusiasm trumps logic. This is particularly true for avid fans of particular teams. They’re anxious for the start of the season, and grab onto anything they see as good news for their alma mater.

NFL Training Camps Are Ready To Open With Packers, Seahawks 5-1 Favorites To Win Super Bowl NFL Coaching Changes And What They Might Mean In the Pre-SeasonI Guarantee You Will Win $3,000 With My August Program That Also Includes 1st Two Weeks Of Colleges And Free Month Of Baseball For Just $100Sign Up Today And Start Winning Today

Thought For The Day|Sharks are as tough as those football fans who take their shirts off during games in Chicago in January, only more intelligent." - Newspaper columnist/humorist Dave Barry.

The Los Angeles Angels are in the midst of an important home series against the Minnesota Twins as we speak. It’s a battle of playoff contenders that entered their matchup just two games apart in the standings. The Angels were 52-40 prior to Tuesday’s opener, while Minnesota was 50-42.

Yet, the perception of these teams is miles apart. And, the major betting markets reflect those perceptions rather than the current standings.

*The Angels are now virtual co-favorites to win the AL at +350 (KC a shade better)

*The Twins are longshots to win the AL at +2100 (ranking #10 of 15 AL teams)

I wanted to take some time today to really pin down the importance of the passing game in modern day college football. So many teams are running variations of the spread offense now that you need to focus on how many true PLAYMAKERS and GAMEBREAKERS are in each offensive attack.

*There are teams who have fourth or even fifth options that are capable of taking the ball the distance. How many times have we seen a swing pass to a backup running back go for a big gainer? Happens all the time! Particularly with well-coached teams who have been running the…

The New York Yankees have put some distance in the standings between themselves and the rest of the American League East heading into a crucial three-game series with the Baltimore Orioles that begins Tuesday Night. They don’t have much margin for error though because three teams could be nipping at their heels by the weekend.

AL EAST STANDINGS (heading into new series)

NY Yankees: first place

Baltimore: 4 games behind

Tampa Bay: 4.5 games behind prior to series in Philadelphia

Toronto: 4.5 games behind as they begin series on Oakland Tuesday

Any of the teams behind the Yankees could get hot. Obviously….if Baltimore can do some…

We may just have seen the biggest upset in baseball history! There were TWO rainouts in Southern California on the same day!! Both the San Diego Padres (Sunday afternoon) and Los Angeles Angels (Sunday night) had to postpone home games because of bad weather. Who says it never rains in Southern California?

The news headlines grabbed by that fluke of nature helped obscure what was actually a really big upset in Major League Baseball this past weekend. What had been the hottest team in baseball…the Pittsburgh Pirates…were SWEPT in a three-game series by the last place Milwaukee Brewers. Not defeated one…

JIM SEZ: THE NFL CAMPS ARE OPENIN' UP THIS WEEK (AND NEXT WEEK) AND WE CHECK IN ON KEY LEAGUE-WIDE NEWS & NOTES

THE BASEBALL UPDATE: RATING THE TOP THREE BULLPENS

By Jim Hurley:

Go ahead and check those NFL agendas - there's five teams opening camps between now and this coming Sunday (that's Cleveland, Houston, Minnesota, Oakland and Pittsburgh) and so get ready for pads to be poppin' all around the league way before we even flip the calendar page to read August.

And get ready for plenty of conversation regarding quarterback play: We could be overestimating things but it sure looks to…

This used to be the kind of series that baseball dreaded when Interleague play was first introduced. Sure…people want to see Mets/Yankees or Cubs/White Sox. But, what’s going to happen when irrelevant teams like the Pittsburgh Pirates and Kansas City Royals square off!

Well, in 2015, what happens just might be a World Series preview! Kansas City is still the favorite to win the American League as they continue building on last year’s league title. Pittsburgh trails powerhouse St. Louis over in the National League. But, they have posted a better record than the Redbirds in recent weeks.

You saw yesterday that Ohio State and Michigan State are likely to be serious national players over in the Big 10 East. And, Michigan has a chance to become a developing story thanks to new head coach Jim Harbaugh. Today we look at the West…where Wisconsin is at the head of a much weaker pack.

Wisconsin

2014 Record: 11-3

2014 Rankings: 21 on offense, 4 on defense

Returning Starters: 5 on offense, 7 on defense

Head Coach: Paul Chryst (first year)

Notebook: Chryst takes over for Gary Anderson (who fled for Oregon State after a limited tenure in Madison). He certainly knows what Wisconsin football is…

Had to love all the ESPN, Fox 1 and MLB Network shows during this past week's All-Star Game break that analyzed/dissected all the Major-League Baseball teams out there (okay, some of the "experts" knew what they were talkin' about and some didn't!).

In today's weekend edition of Jim Sez, we've got our own little take on matters concerning a handful of second-place teams who are looking to this unofficial second half of this here-and-now season to…

The Ohio State Buckeyes peaked at the right time last season…surging to a National Championship in dominating fashion despite having to play backup quarterbacks! In the Fall of 2015, they arguably have THREE star quarterbacks who would all be Heisman Trophy candidates if they weren’t on the same squad.

Does that mean they’ll run up the score every game just because they can’t avoid it?! It will be tough for oddsmakers to pin down what the “right” number will be for the Buckeyes in garbage games. Against quality? Well, the early numbers suggest Ohio State will be clear favorites over everyone…

BASEBALL'S BACK!!! THE SEASON'S UNOFFICIAL SECOND HALF GETS ROLLIN' TODAY/TONIGHT AND WE CHECK OUT THE TOP WEEKEND SERIES INCLUDING A DODGERS-NATS SHOWDOWNTHE COLLEGE FOOTBALL UPDATE: AUBURN'S THE PICK TO WIN THE SEC (BUT IS THAT A GOOD THING FOR WAR EAGLE?)NFL NEWS & NOTES: THE HARD KNOCKS GANG IS COMING!

By Jim Hurley:

Did this week feel like a really sloooooow sports time without any Major-League Baseball the past couple of days?

It did to us!

Still, gotta admit it's nice to get Baseball back on the front-and-center stage for the unofficial second half of this 2015 season beginning with Friday's action - the…

Last weekend we talked about a few strategies for betting Major League Baseball right before the All-Star Break. Today, our topic here in my College of Advanced Sports Betting and Handicapping involves time tested strategies for handicapping in the days immediately following the All-Star Break.

*The most important thing to remember is that the BEST teams are now RESTED and MOTIVATED to play their best ball. We see this time and time again…the cream really rises to the top because contenders had a chance to catch their breath as they prepare for pennant races. As a result, our continuing emphasis on…

It’s fairly unanimous in analytical circles that the “big four” of St. Louis, Pittsburgh, Washington, and the Los Angeles Dodgers are going to represent 80% of the final National League playoff brackets. (It will be those four plus an additional Wildcard.) The “first half” of the 2015 Major League Baseball season wrapped up before the All-Star Break with the Cardinals visiting the Pirates. The “second half” begins Friday with the Nationals and Dodgers going head-to-head in the nation’s capital. Great to have these potential playoff previews!

We should note up front that there are a few teams who believe they have…

Desperate to find something worth covering during the All-Star Break, the mainstream media has been devoting a lot of space to this week’s “SEC Media Days” as they gear up for the 2015 College Football Season.

You’ve known me for years as THE KING OF LAS VEGAS. But, WAYNE ALLYN ROOT actually started his TV career for the SCORE network back in the early days of cable. Imagine an ESPN SportsCenter anchor who covered things from a handicapping perspective. I learned very quickly that most mainstream TV sports personalities and writers would have trouble surviving in Las Vegas. They don’t REALLY…

THE MLB REPORT: WHO WILL BE THE SECOND-HALF MONEY-MAKERS & MONEY-BURNERS?MORE MLB NEWS & NOTES INCLUDING A PLEA FOR MORE OFFENSE

By Jim Hurley:

Folks, it's absolutely one of our favorite sports times of the year ...The Major-League Baseball post-All-Star Game break - remember there's no games till tomorrow (Friday) -- provides us all a few moments to take in a deep breath and think of what lies ahead in terms of which MLB teams are gonna pile up the profits and which ones will bury their backers.

Okay, so we're not always right on these things - but then who is? The…

Baseball’s annual All-Star Break is a great time to come up for air and think about Futures prices for both the National League and American League pennants, as well as the World Series. We have a very interesting dynamic in play this season because there are now FOUR teams in the NL who are seen as more likely to win the World Championship than any team in the AL.

Either St. Louis or Pittsburgh will have to be a Wildcard the way the brackets are designed. Yet, both currently have lower Futures prices than AL-best Kansas City.

THE ALL-STAR GAME REPORT: THE AMERICAN LEAGUE WINS (AGAIN)PLUS COLLEGE FOOTBALL NOTEBOOK: WHO'S THE BIG 10'S BIGGEST CHALLENGER TO THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY?

By Jim Hurley:

The bottom line when it comes to these Baseball All-Star Games is that the American League has Mike Trout in its lineup these days ... and the National League does not.

Trout's leadoff home run jet-powered the AL to its 10th All-Star Game win in the past 10 years - the AL is 15-3-1 overall in the past 19 years and is 21-6-1 the past 28 years - and the aforementioned Trout wound up winning a second…

It’s not often that the Las Vegas betting markets completely miss out on major developments in the world of sports. But, that’s definitely happened this season in Major League Baseball. Though, to be fair, the issues I’m talking about didn’t just begin in 2015. They’ve arguably taken over the sport this year in a way that’s had oddsmakers and longtime bettors scratching their heads.

Luckily, WAYNE ALLYN ROOT is always ahead of the game! I’m the only man in the sports betting industry with a star on the “Walk of Fame” here in Las Vegas. If an oddsmaker ever gets a…

There are very few days here in Las Vegas where there isn’t something to bet on. In the past, the All-Star Break represented the only real “dead spot” in the whole calendar year. That’s still pretty much the case, though Vegas sportsbooks are now offering Canadian football, the WNBA, and various golf props for the coming British Open in hopes of generating traffic.

For you students here in My College of Advanced Sports Betting and Handicapping, I have the following suggestions for “homework” during this quiet time in the schedule.

THE BASEBALL UPDATE: IT'S ALL-STAR GAME TIME IN CINCINNATI AND WE GET YOU A.S.G. TRIVIA PLUS MUCH, MUCH MORE

By Jim Hurley:

We've come upon the notion that these days you either love the Major-League Baseball All-Star Game and all its trimmings ... or you hate it.

Call us purists or traditionalists - what have you - but we preferred the All-Star Games of old where there was a serious will to win by both the National League and the American League and people worried less about "Home Run Hitting Contests" and "home field advantages".

The Georgia Southern Eagles had an amazing debut season in the Sun Belt Conference last year. They were supposed to finish in the lower half of the newly expanded league. Instead, they ran the table for a perfect 8-0 mark in conference play. And, they just missed upsetting NC State and Georgia Tech in September!

All that got them was a banquet at the end of the season, because new members to the FBS from the FCS can’t go to bowls in their first season. CRIME! How can an 8-0 team that isn’t on probation for rules violations not be allowed…

Yesterday, we talked about what looks like a possible one-team race over in the East Division of the Mid-American Conference. Bowling Green won that loop last year, and returns a lot of starters this season. Over in the West, things look to be a lot more competitive.

In short…

*Northern Illinois won the West last year, and returns meaningful talent

*Toledo won nine games last year, including their bowl, and will be a factor

*Western Michigan won eight games, and also returns a lot of meaningful talent

*Central Michigan won seven games last year, lost a bowl thriller, and hired a new coach

Saturday brings the return of our summer series of college football conference previews. We hope you already read (and printed out!) earlier reports on the Mountain West and Conference USA. If you missed those, please scroll back in the archives. Over the next few days, we’ll finish off the mid majors by studying the Mid-American Conference (today and Sunday), and then the Sun Belt (Monday).

The MAC East only launched one team to a bowl last season…as Bowling Green won the group, lost the MAC title badly to Northern Illinois (51-17)…then beat lowly South Alabama in the Camellia Bowl. Nobody else…

IT'S THE LAST WEEKEND BEFORE THE ALL-STAR GAME BREAK AND SO THAT MEANS IT'S TIME FOR THE MID-SEASON REPORT CARDS MORE NFL TEAM-BY-TEAM REPORTS AS WE CHECK IN ON THE BILLS, TITANS & PANTHERS

Fame can be fleeting - just ask the defending World Series San Francisco Giants who also won it all back in 2010 and 2012 but right here/right now have eight National League teams with better "mid-year grades" according to our Jim Sez report cards.

Okay, so maybe we are indeed "hard markers" having given the Giants only a "C" but roll through these NL Mid-Season Report Cards and…

When we circled this matchup for a likely series preview a couple of weeks ago in our planning…it was looking like a true blockbuster. The Baltimore Orioles had been playing great, along with the rest of the AL East. Of course, Washington is a virtual shoe-in to win the NL East by default on its way to a possible pennant in the senior circuit.

And, it’s one of the great Interleague rivalries! What a way to close out the first half of the season!

Somehow…the AL East fell back off a cliff again…with Baltimore, Toronto, and Tampa Bay all going into recent…

The weekend before the All-Star Break can be very tricky for sports bettors. Motivation is far from a sure thing from a few hundred exhausted players who can’t wait for a few days off. Yet, there are obviously a few teams and individual pitchers who will be giving it everything this weekend because of the pennant races or some rivalry scenarios.

You regulars know that WAYNE ALLYN ROOT is the documented KING OF UPSETS in this industry because of my career success at finding live dogs in all sports. In baseball, the dogs have to win straight up for you to…

Major League Baseball’s All-Star Break begins Monday, which means we have a few days to exploit some classic “pre-ASB” strategies that have proven the test of time. I’m not going to suggest that these approaches will win every single time they pop up this weekend. And, I obviously can’t guarantee that they’ll finish better than 50/50 in such a short term sample size. But, over DECADES, these continue to be relevant angles for you to consider as you handicap the last few games before the intermission.

*First, you want to TAKE any pitcher that believes he was snubbed by the selection…

THE BASEBALL REPORT: HERE'S OUR ADVICE FOR ALL FUTURE ALL-STAR GAMESAND THERE'S MORE NFL TEAM-BY-TEAM GLANCES AS WE FOCUS ON THE BRONCOS, STEELERS, CARDINALS AND LIONS

By Jim Hurley:

Memo to Major-League Baseball: It's time to revamp this whole All-Star Game business - once and for all!

Please, we were doing our very best to ignore the whole situation between the out-of-control fan voting in Kansas City to the fact that managers continue to take their players over/above more deserving All Stars from other teams to this now "vote in one more player" junk - and we didn't even mention the fact that…

The team with the best record in baseball this season (by a good bit) is will take on the hottest team in baseball (by a mile) when the St. Louis Cardinals visit the Pittsburgh Pirates this weekend for a huge four-game series. What a showdown!

Even though we just passed the halfway mark of the 2015 season…and even though these two teams play in the same division (meaning only one can get a bye into the NL brackets), fangraphs currently has St. Louis at 98% to make the playoffs, and Pittsburgh at 92%. They’re playing so well…with a track record suggesting…

CINCINNATI (AP) Both benches and bullpens cleared and there was some shoving after Cincinnati's Brandon Phillips was hit by a pitch by Pittsburgh left-hander Tony Watson in the eighth inning on Sunday.